In classic Ichiro fashion, the stoic veteran waited until the eighth pitch of the decisive at-bat before lining a single to center. Then as he took second on the throw home, he showed no emotion, instead just lifting his hand to call timeout.

In Sik Kim, the South Korean manager, said the team had signaled to Lim that he was supposed to pitch around Suzuki. If Suzuki did not bite at a bad pitch, Lim was supposed to walk Suzuki. But Lim apparently did not get those signs or did not obey them.

Suzuki diplomatically said that he was not surprised that the South Koreans pitched to him because walking him would have loaded the bases. But even Kim said that he regretted not walking Suzuki. During the memorable at bat, the usually focused Suzuki said his mind was cluttered.

“I really wish I could be in a state of Zen,” Suzuki said. “I kept thinking of all the things I shouldn’t think about. Usually, I cannot hit when I think of all those things. This time, I got a hit. Maybe I surpassed myself.”

The Mariners’ right fielder had struggled through much of the WBC tournament and was hitting just .211 with three RBIs in eight previous games.

But Ichiro went 4 for 6 in Monday’s finale and is now 6 for 10 in two WBC championship games as Japan has won back-to-back titles in the world tournament that debuted three years ago. The next WBC is scheduled for 2013.

Teammate Kenji Johjima went 0 for 5 and stranded 11 base runners in the title game, but the Mariners catcher still wound up with a .333 batting average over the course of the Classic.

Former Mariner outfielder Shin-Soo Choo hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie the game for South Korea. Choo, who now plays for the Cleveland Indians, was the only major league player on Korea’s roster.